Of Nasty Divorces and Premonitions
by HidingintheInkwell
Summary: Every night when Ferb closed his eyes; long after his dad had bid him good night, turned on the little yellow truck night light and closed the door, he'd dream about intelligently bright eyes, shocking red hair, and a grin that was just as infectious as it was mischievous. "Come on, Ferb! I know what we're going to do today!"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If I owned Phineas and Ferb Montnessa would be a thing, Phinabella would not, and the show would still be going on!

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Every night when Ferb closed his eyes; long after his dad had bid him good night, turned on the little yellow truck night light that Ferb insists he doesn't need because he's 7 and a big boy now (but will get out of bed and turn it on if the man decides to listen and leave it off), and closed the door, he'd dream about intelligently bright eyes, shocking red hair, and a grin that was just as infectious as it was mischievous. "Come on, Ferb! I know what we're going to do today!" the boy would say, practically vibrating in excitement.

Ferb would open his eyes and find himself sitting in the cool shade of an oak tree that couldn't possibly fit into zoning laws next to a boy in jean shorts and an orange and white striped shirt. _Brother_ , a part of his mind would whisper from somewhere in the darker recesses reserved for dream states. Here, so far away from England and his grandparents, he had a brother. He focused back in on a nose that was practically touching his in its closeness. "Wanna build a rollercoaster?" Entranced by the excitement shining back at him, all he could do was nod.

The boy is instantly on his feet, tugging Ferb up with persistent hands and running his mouth about needing rivets and scrap metal and posters to advertise. "It'll be the coolest coaster _EVER_ Ferb! We're gonna have zigzags and loop de loops, and three mile drops straight down into a vat of mud! We'll even dump rubber snakes on them! This is gonna be awesome! But first, we need a blowtorch and some peanut butter. If you'll take care of that I'll go see about getting those building permits together so we can start ordering parts!"

"Hey, Phineas. Watcha dooin?" Taller than Phineas but shorter than Ferb, Isabella stood in the gateway with her pretty pink dress and bow in her neat hair; such a contrast to the messy visage the boy gave off. "Hey Ferb!" she waved. Ferb waved back from where he was perched on the girding of the framework firing in rivets. Isabella was a Jewish Mexican girl who lived across the street from Phineas and came over every day.

She's outgoing and clever and ready for whatever idea Phineas's brain has come up with, and she had the absolute most _obvious_ crush on the redhead. Obvious to everyone, that is, except the boy in question. Every time he saw her openly making "doe eyes"-as he's heard it called by grown-ups-at the shorter boy, he had to fight back an irrational wave of jealousy. She wasn't real, she was just part of a dream. So what reason did he have to be jealous? It was just silly. "Your step-brother doesn't talk much, does he?" Isabella was saying to Phineas. There were those weird doe eyes again… Phineas didn't notice.

He was studying the blueprints they'd drawn up with a big grin on his face, which he turned on Ferb before answering. "Nah, he's more of a man of _action._ " Ferb liked that smile. No one at home smiled like that, at least not at him. Sometimes he'd get a special smile from his father when he was being especially well behaved, or a smile full of old yellowish teeth from Grandpa Reg when he did a magic trick, but nobody smiled at him the way Phineas smiled at him.

The roller coaster was the coolest coaster ever. Everybody said so. Even if it didn't go exactly to plan, but they didn't have to know that. Ferb thought his favorite part was when they ended up in outer space. You could see the whole universe from up there! When he woke up, he was going to ask his dad if they could take a trip to the Peter Harrison Planetarium sometime soon. When he asked Phineas's favorite part, the boy had just grinned cheekily and replied with "the mud and snakes."

The roller coaster cars exploding in the top of the tree had scared him a little, but Phineas hadn't seemed concerned. "It's okay, Ferb. The tree will be fine. It actually does that a lot." Phineas got up and dusted the grass off his jeans. "Okay, Ferb. You have to be going, don't you." Ferb felt a wave of sadness. That's right. He always wakes up after their invention of the day. He nods, feeling like he was going to cry. He didn't want to leave. He liked Phineas! He liked Phineas's mommy. She always made them snacks and never told them it would ruin their dinner. And Phineas had the coolest pet, a teal platypus named Perry who always sat next to him and let Ferb pet him. He didn't have any pets at home because _his_ mommy was allergic so the closest he had was his stuffed bunny, the Duke of Longear.

Phineas seemed to sense Ferb's distress because he kneeled in front of the Brit and wrapped him in a tight hug. Phineas had the best hugs. "It's okay, Ferb! You'll be back tomorrow! I'll think of something real cool for us to do, okay? Real cool. Good night Ferb!" He let go, but he didn't get up and go back inside. He sat there while Ferb leaned back against the tree and felt his eyes growing heavy. Phineas never left before Ferb was asleep again.

Even though he was sitting beneath a tree in a backyard on a bright sunny day, he felt the chill of his open window and the weight of his blanket tucked up to his chin. There was a soft mattress under him and a fuzzy animal in his arms, and then he blinked and he was in his room, night light dim in the sunlight coming from his window. Goodbye Summer in Danville, hello September in London.


	2. Chapter 2

Ferb Fletcher was a quiet 7 year old boy who lived in a small, two bedroom flat in London with his dad, Lawrence. They'd been living there for three months while his parents went to court twice a week. Sometimes more. He didn't know a lot of what they were fighting about, all he knew was that his mom and dad used to fight all the time before he'd moved Ferb to the little flat. His mom wanted to keep him in England with her and her new boyfriend while her soon-to-be ex-husband moved as far away as possible, taking his stupid (and other colorful words he hadn't been supposed to hear) antique business with him.

The thing was, though, Ferb didn't want to stay with his mom in England. He loved his grandparents and would miss not getting to see them all the time, but he didn't like his mom's new boyfriend. His name was Frank and he smelled weird and had a look to him that didn't sit well with Ferb, like when he got a tummy ache and felt like he was going to throw up, especially when he used that look on Ferb. He was nice enough, especially in front of his mother, but Ferb just didn't like the way he looked.

His dad had moved him out of the big house he used to share with his mom a month after the divorce had started and into a small flat across town, but Ferb still spent weekends between his mom's house and his grandparents cottage when both his parents had to go to court. Sometimes he wished the judge would just ask him what he wanted because it would be a lot easier, but no one wanted to listen to a 7 year old who rarely talked on a good day. He still had speech therapy appointments on Thursdays, but he didn't need them. He could talk just fine. He just didn't like to.

The world was too noisy. It would be better if everyone would stop talking sometimes. As he climbed out of bed to close his window-his toes were starting to look blue-and get dressed, he looked at the large calendar his grandma had gotten him for his birthday. Each month was a different galaxy, and he had cool planet and star stickers to mark off the days. Today was monday, but it was holiday so he didn't have school. Maybe he and his dad could go to the planetarium on Thursday after speech? Hopefully he wouldn't have to go any more once he and his dad moved away.

Walking over to his closet, he pulled out his purple overalls and a long sleeved white sweater to wear with it. Exchanging his pajamas for the day clothes, he walked into his bathroom to brush his teeth before going downstairs. His dad was sitting at the small two chair table in one corner of the cramped kitchen drinking tea and reading the newspaper. He looked up when Ferb came in, walking to the refrigerator to get some orange juice and milk for his cereal. "Morning, Ferb! How'd you sleep last night, buddy? Good dreams?" Ferb nodded, setting his breakfast on the table before climbing up into the seat and pulling the funny pages toward him to look at while he ate. "Can we go to the planetarium on Thursday after speech?" he asked, looking up at the tall, brown haired man from under his bangs. His dad considered it for a moment, setting his newspaper down to study Ferb over his pointed fingers. "Well I don't see why not," he said, smiling. "Let's plan on it! So long as nothing comes up, that is. Sound good?" Ferb nodded, smiling around a bite of fruity cereal. His mom never bought him fruity cereal. She said it was too sugary.

"I thought maybe today we could go into town, maybe do a bit of grocery shopping and pick up something for dinner. Sound good?" Ferb nodded, taking a sip of his orange juice. He liked grocery shopping with his dad. The older Fletcher always had a way of finding little out of the way farmer's markets and specialty stores that sold foods from other countries. Last time they'd gone grocery shopping they'd ended up in Little Russia and gotten _pierogi_ for dinner along with some Russian candies that he hadn't been able to name but they were nutty and chocolaty and really _, really_ good.

He'd wanted to try to bring some to Phineas, but he hadn't quite managed to figure that out yet. The last time he'd tried he'd woken up with melted chocolate under his pillow. He'd been at his mom's and she'd not been pleased. Frank had been over that day and had laughed, telling his mom to relax and he'd probably just been saving it for later and forgot they were under there. He'd still had to sit through a lecture about how food in the bedroom led to pests.

Finishing their breakfasts, the Fletcher boys made their way to the car, his dad pausing to lock up the front door before they descended the three flights of stairs to the parking lot. Ferb buckled himself into his car seat while his dad loaded their reusable bags into the trunk and they were off. While his dad sang along with the radio-a song about wanting to have fun by some American singer-Ferb stared out the window imagining he was still on that roller coaster. They'd ZOOOOM around the freeway in a corkscrew, racing past even the fastest European drivers before spiraling up Big Ben. The next big drop could come as they crossed the Thames.

They could end it all in Hyde park by the carousel, riding the colorful horses until it grew dark and time to go home. Maybe if things went wrong like they had the last time they'd end up in Paris, sliding down the Louvre Pyramid, or in Italy looping around and around inside the colosseum until they were too dizzy to see straight. It didn't matter where they ended up, though. As long as they had fun, his dad always said the destination was never as important as the road you take to get there. He tracked his mental roller coaster all the way up to the small farmer's market his dad had found in Greenwich. He was brought out of the thoughts when the man opened his door to help him out of the harness.

"Alright there, Ferb? Usually you're the first out of the car when we arrive somewhere!" Ferb nodded, hopping out of the car and grabbing the bag he was offered. "So I thought we'd get some carrots, green beans, some squash if they've got any that look good, some eggs, and what would you say to maybe some pumpkin and sweet potatoes? I figured we could use some of the pumpkin in a soup and maybe use the rest for a pie?" Ferb nodded. His dad made really good pies. They took their time roaming up and down the aisles, his dad testing fruits and veggies to see their ripeness before deciding whether or not they could use them.

They got what they came for, but he also found apples that were a perfect, gold speckled red color, some blueberries and persimmons, and figs. There was also something called edamame that looked like giant, fuzzy green beans to Ferb, but his dad insisted that when steamed and salted, they were very good. Right at the back of the market was a small pumpkin patch. Ferb was left the task of finding the perfect pumpkin while his dad picked out a carton of eggs and some mushrooms he planned on using in a stew later.

The task of pumpkin picking was an important one. If it was too big, most of it would go bad while if it was too small, there wouldn't be enough for everything they were going to make. His grandpa had once told him that the reason carving pumpkins were always bigger than your head was because they had less flavor to them. The best ones to eat were smaller and squatty.

There were such a variety of pumpkins to choose from that Ferb was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. There were tall rounded ones too heavy for him to carry, short stubby ones covered in little bumps, white ones, green ones, ones that didn't even look like pumpkins at all. They looked more like upside down mushrooms, or spaceships. Ferb briefly entertained the idea of a race of space aliens that had pumpkin spaceships to travel the stars in while he picked his way through the squashes. He was starting to get discouraged because none of them looked right when one of his trainers got caught and he was sent sprawling over a pumpkin that was bigger than he was.

His breath left him in a woosh and his side hurt where the stem was digging into him, but he didn't care. There, hidden behind the large orange fruit, was a perfectly round pumpkin. Maybe up to his knee, it had a smooth round rind and a curly brown stem. Pushing himself up off the enormous gourd, he slid around it and bent to properly examine his probable prize. His grandmother had sometimes grown pumpkins back behind their house and when Ferb was younger she'd taken him out to show him how to check for a good one.

"Now Ferb," she'd tell him, "the first thing you do is look at the skin. It should be nice and hard like it's wearing a shell. Then you thump it and see if it sounds hollow. If it doesn't then it means it's gone all rotten on the inside." She'd led him to a small pumpkin, about the size to fit in his open hand and showed him how to thump it and listen, pleased when he heard the hollow echo in his ear. "So it is a good one then?" she'd asked him and he'd nodded back going to pick it up so she could cut the stem and they could take it inside. "Wait a second, dear. You know, there's a legend about a kindly witch who lives in pumpkin patches and enchants pumpkins with the names of good little boys and girls who are coming to pick out their pumpkins. Should we see if she visited our patch?"

Fascinated, Ferb nodded eagerly. "Look on the underside of the pumpkin. She likes to hide them so that only the right children can find their pumpkins." Setting his pumpkin back down on the ground, Ferb carefully rolled it over. The bottom was dirty from where it had been sitting on the ground to grow, but when he brushed it away it revealed a series of little grey raised bumps. F-E-R-B. The pumpkin had his name on it! He looked up at his grandmother with excitement as she bent down to cut it from the vine. He'd carried his named fruit into the house to show his parents, and that night they'd had the best pumpkin pie he'd ever tasted.

Smiling at the memory, Ferb checked and thumped the pumpkin until he was satisfied. When he went to roll it so he could pick it up however, he felt a cold shudder run through him. Two letters were scabbed into the bottom of the pumpkin. P and F. Thoughts were racing through his head faster than he could process them. What could it mean? He no longer believed in the story of the Pumpkin Patch Witch, but this had to be some sort of sign. He was still crouched there staring at those two letters when he heard his dad calling his name.

"Ferb I'm about done with what I needed to do here. Did you find a good pumpkin?" He picked his way over to his son, looking down at the pumpkin that had Ferb transfixed. "Ah splendid! That's a nice looking pumpkin, my boy! Is that the one you want?" Ferb nodded, brought out of his trance by his dad. Scooping it into his arms, he tottered to his feet and followed the older Fletcher out of the patch and toward the check out.

? ? ? ?

They'd loaded their fresh goods into the trunk of the car before climbing back in and heading for the supermarket for the rest of their list. They'd just pulled into the parking lot when his dad's cell phone rang. "Hello? Oh yes, hi Sarah. How are you today?" Ferb unclipped his harness, staring at the back of his dad's head. This couldn't be good. Sarah was his dad's lawyer. She only ever called when he was going to be needed in court. "No, my son and I were just doing a bit of grocery shopping for the week. She did what? No, no. I'll be there. What time? Fine. Thank you, Sarah." He hung up the phone with a sigh, looking back at Ferb through the reflection in the rear view mirror.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, buddy, but I'm afraid we're going to have to cut our shopping adventure short, and you're going to have to go stay with your grandparents for a little while. Sarah needs me to come in to review some things your mother's lawyer is trying to slip to the judge. I'm really sorry about this, Ferb. But hey! You can show your grandma your pumpkin!" Ferb nodded, offering his dad a smile. He was sad that they weren't going to be able to finish their shopping trip, but he knew what his dad had to take care of was important. Sitting back in his seat, he rebuckled as his dad backed out of his parking spot and turned for the Grand-Fletcher's house.

Ferb spent the ride staring out the window. His dad had called _his_ dad while they drove to let him know what was going on, but Ferb had tuned out. It was only a quarter past one but he was already feeling drowsy. He knew from past experience that if he fell asleep before tonight he wouldn't see Phineas, but he couldn't help but hold out hope every time he went down for a nap. The redhead was a mystery to Ferb. He didn't start dreaming about him until a week after the divorce and custody battles had started, but every night since he'd find himself in a pretty backyard with a boy he'd never met, yet who seemed to know him immediately and who carried the feeling of _brother_.

The first time it had happened, he'd found himself sitting under an oak tree bigger around than he'd ever seen with an angular faced boy with almost unnaturally red hair saying "Ferb! I know what we're going to do today!" He hadn't known how this stranger knew his name, but the way he'd said it made it sound familiar and well used, like this was something he did every day. That day they'd built a beach.

Ferb didn't actually learn his companion's name until much later, when a teenager with tangerine colored hair and a neurotic attitude marched out demanding what they were doing. Phineas. Not a name you heard every day. Ferb had tested it out on his tongue later that morning while brushing his teeth and it had felt good. Familiar. Phineas didn't even care that he didn't talk. The kids at Ferb's school thought he was odd, some even making fun of him for his silence, but not Phineas. He respected Ferb's silence like it was the most normal thing, chatting to fill the gap without a care in the world.

Grandpa Reg and Grandma Winifred were waiting for them when they pulled up. As his dad brought the car to a stop and turned it off, Ferb unbuckled and jumped out of the vehicle to give them a hug. The elderly couple wrapped him in a warm hug, enveloping him between the two of them. "Don't worry, dear," his grandma whispered in his ear. "We'll have a spiffing time while your father's taking care of his business." Ferb nodded, smiling at the white haired lady as he pulled away. "Thanks, mom, thanks dad," Ferb's dad said, walking up and greeting his mom with a hug and a kiss to the cheek before offering his dad a handshake.

"Sorry to have to drop Ferb on you both such last minute, but Sarah called and needs me to come down. Ferb tell you he picked out a pumpkin at that little farmer's market in Greenwich?" Grandma Winifred smiled, patting her son on the arm. She was proud of him for going through all this and fighting for what he believed in. "No! Did he now? I'll bet it's a right pretty one. My grandson has quite the eye for lovely things!" Ferb felt his cheeks heat up at the compliment. "Why don't you go get it and show them? Maybe you three can cook some of it up for dinner tonight! Don't worry. Your grandfather will pack some away and we can still make soup or pie later, okay?" Ferb nodded, running for the trunk of the car so he could show his grandparents his find. And maybe the initials on the bottom.


	3. Chapter 3

That night the three of them had chicken and pumpkin soup with toasted pumpkin seeds for dessert. True to his word, his grandpa had packed up the remaining pumpkin as well as a container of soup for them to take back. Ferb had had a peanut butter sandwich as a late lunch and hadn't been very hungry, but what he did eat had been very tasty. Both of the grownups had praised his skills in picking out the perfect pumpkin.

After dinner they'd watched the news for a little while, Grandpa Reg challenging him to a chess game before sending him off to get ready for bed. His dad called just as he was getting to the room his grandparents kept up for him, asking if they'd keep Ferb for the night and take him to school the next morning. The meeting with Sarah had run much later than intended and he still had to be in court tomorrow morning at 8. His grandma had assured him that it was no issue, just make sure he got some sleep himself so he'd make a good impression for the judge.

Sometimes Ferb felt like the luckiest kid in the world because he had three of everything. He had his room in the flat he shared with his dad, the walls white but covered with pictures of robots and spaceships with its yellow truck night light and wood frame bed. Then he had the room at his mom's house, with his purple racecar bed and solar system hanging from the ceiling and walls that were painted to look like a jurassic forest. The nightlight projected planets up onto the ceiling when the lights were turned off, and the rest of that space was covered in glowing stars. Everything about the room screamed little boy.

His room at his grandparents had once been his dad's old room. The bed was bigger than the ones at his other houses, but it had soft dark blue sheets and a comforter covered in cartoonish robots. He had a little white dresser with some extra pairs of clothes for school, play, and sleeping, and a nightlight that looked like an aquarium. He'd left his bunny at home, but his grandma had dug out an old, well loved teddy bear with long legs from a trunk in the attic. He was waiting leaned against Ferb's pillow when he went in to change.

That night his grandparents tucked him in. They kissed him goodnight, telling him to have sweet dreams and that they'd wake him when it was time to get ready for school in the morning before retiring to their own room, closing the door behind them. Clutching the hand-me-down bear to his chest, Ferb let himself drift off, wondering what plans the vivacious redhead had in store for them this time. When he opened his eyes again, Phineas was there waiting for him.

"Hey Ferb! How would you feel about making a quick trip to the Dead Sea before starting on our invention? I've been looking online, and evidently there's a line missing from that old 'Hey diddle diddle' nursery rhyme about the ice cream made from the cow that jumped over the moon. I thought we could try it!" Grinning widely, Ferb nodded. Moon cow ice cream? How cool was that! Phineas hopped to his feet, pulling Ferb up with him. "First, we're gonna need swimsuits."

Some time later found Ferb dripping wet as they studied the soggy manuscript of the original poem in front of their rocket. Their friends filed in one after the other as Phineas told them of the plan. They were going to take a herd of cattle up to the moon so they could make the best ice cream in the world! Everyone went along with the idea willingly, the only skeptical one being a large, rather intimidating boy of Dutch descent named Buford. Buford was much taller than the rest of them with no neck, a severe underbite, and an angry expression.

The first time Ferb had met him he'd felt a wave of terror. The boy had found them at the mall, sat on a small school obsessed boy named Baljeet, and threatened to pummel Phineas into the ground when the ice cream they'd been timing to see how long it took to melt landed on his cargos. How could his mind have conjured something like him? He wanted to run away, to hide behind something and not come out until the self-proclaimed neighborhood bully was gone, but Phineas didn't seem afraid. And for some reason, he trusted Phineas.

Then he'd seen Buford break down because he'd lost his goldfish. After that the bully hadn't frightened him anymore.

The cows had done surprisingly well on the moon. The lessened gravity hadn't seemed to affect them physically and they just rolled with the feeding and milking mechanisms and before they knew it they were trying the very first ice cream from the moon. It really was probably the best ice cream he'd ever had. Better than store bought, better than that little ice cream shop in Wembley they went to for special occasions, even better than the summer all the Fletchers had gotten together for a family camping trip and they'd made homemade ice cream. The only thing that beat the sweet, creamy flavor was the view.

The view he was only ever privy to at night spread out in front of him in reverse. Instead of seeing the moon framed by countless stars, he saw the Earth; a swirling globe of whites and greens and browns and so, _so_ much blue. NASA's satellite photos had nothing on seeing it for yourself. He could have stayed there forever, taking in the ever changing view before him, the life sustaining planet backlit by the sun and surrounded by twinkling stars. It was mesmerising. "Hey Ferb, you okay?" he was brought back to reality by a soft voice at his side. He turned to see Phineas standing next to him, a chocolate ice cream mustache gracing his upper lip. Ferb smiled and nodded, turning back to the view.

"It's amazing, isn't it? To think that for all science knows right now, that's the only life in the universe? Imagine it, Ferb. The only life in the universe…" Ferb looked at him out the corner of his eye. "You don't believe that. I know you don't." Phineas met his stare head on, serious expression starting to wobble around the edges. With a snort that cracked the facade, the redhead's face broke out in a wide grin. "Yeah, you're right. Just because science hasn't discovered it yet doesn't mean it's not out there somewhere!"

Packing up the rest of the ice cream, they loaded the cows and their friends back into the shuttle and started for home. As they piloted them back to town safely, Ferb wondered how Candace's lamb cobbler had come. Irving had said the transmission was a little garbled but understandable, and he could only hope nothing had gotten lost in translation. As the ship came to park in the backyard, Candace and a lanky Japanese girl named Stacy came running out with a ceramic cooking pot. "Phineas! Ferb! What's going on out here?" the four of them had been pulling off their spacesuits when the teens had run out. "Oh hi Candace!" Phineas greeted his sister. "We brought you some moon cow ice cream!"

Candace squacked, going off about how she didn't care if it was ice cream from the moon, Jeremy was going to be there soon and she didn't want them to ruin her surprise. While she talked, they heard a rumble behind them and the rocket took off. Everyone froze, watching as it disappeared into the sky. "Huh," Phineas huffed, turning to Ferb. "How do you think the cows will do on the moon?" Ferb thought about it for a moment. "I think they'll be fine. The grass will start producing oxygen, and that will eventually form an atmosphere." Phineas nodded along in understanding, studying the spot they'd last seen the ship. "Well, we know where to go for ice cream!"

? ? ? ?

Ferb was gently shaken awake by his grandma before being left to get himself ready for school. He made his bed, pulled out his dark blue dress pants, white button up, and light blue knit vest with the school logo on the breast. He also grabbed a pair of black socks and his polished dress shoes before making a trip to the loo to brush his teeth and hair, and wash his face. Closing the door to his room he quickly dressed before walking into the kitchen where his grandma was fixing him a pack lunch. A bowl of oatmeal and a glass of orange juice sat at an empty spot for him and his grandpa Reg was reading the paper over a plate of scones and some tea.

"Morning, dear," his grandma said with a smile, zipping up the blue and green striped lunchbox and setting it by Ferb's school bag. "Your father dropped off your school bag on his way to court. He said to tell you he loved you and that he hopes he'll be done in time to pick you up from school." Ferb nodded, taking a bite of the warm honeyed oats. He never liked going to school, but the idea that his dad would pick him up after made it a more tolerable task.

As he finished his breakfast, the used dishware was whisked away to be washed by his grandma. "Reginald," she called over her shoulder. "Reginald! It's about time to be getting Ferb to school!" Grandpa Reg sat up startled. He'd been completely focused on the paper in his hands that he'd almost missed what his wife was telling him. Ferb smirked into his almost empty glass. "What? Oh, yes. Of course dear. Ready, Ferb my boy?" Ferb nodded, setting the glass in the sink and grabbing his school bag and lunchbox before following his grandpa out to the car.

The ride was quiet, silence only broken by the sound of the engine until they pulled up in front of the old two story brick primary school. "Have a good day, my boy! Someone will be here to pick you up this afternoon. You got all your books? Lunch?" Ferb nodded, climbing out of the car and closing the door behind him. "Bye, Grandpa Reg," he said softly, waving to the old man before turning and following the flow of similarly dressed children inside.

School was horrible. Each of his teachers insisted on repeatedly calling on him to answer their questions even though they _knew_ he didn't talk, they had a surprise maths test which didn't throw him too much because he was good at that subject, but when he was the first to turn it in he walked back to his desk to the angry whispers of "cheat" and "nerd" and "snotty know-it-all". He knew they were just jealous, but it didn't stop it from hurting, and when he got back to his desk be buried his face in the book he'd gotten from his mother at the start of the month. It was about a boy just a little older than him, his parents had died when he was a baby and he was being raised by his abusive aunt and uncle. It was a bit nonsense to him, but he was enjoying it just the same.

When the bell rang for lunch he was the first out of the classroom. He sat at a table in the back of the cafeteria and no one tried to sit with him. His grandma had fixed him a turkey and cheese sandwich, a bag of crisps, a juice box, and a thermos of leftover soup from last night. The sandwich still had the crusts. He picked at his food, only eating about half of each before packing it all back up and staring at the table.

He could still taste the creamy ice cream of his dream on his tongue, and he wondered what the redhead would be up to now if he were real. He was American, and they were five hours behind London. He was probably still sleeping, not having to wake up for school for another few hours. Ferb wondered what he dreamed about at night. Did he dream of inventions? Of traveling the world? Did he dream about Ferb? Or did he have someone else he dreamed about? Ferb wasn't sure why, but the idea that a figment of his imagination might dream of someone besides him sent a spike of jealousy coursing through him. He quickly shook it off as the bell rang for next lesson, packing back up his lunch and following the crowd into the hallway.

The second half of his day was gym, English, and History. As he got changed, he wondered if the redhead in his dreams had people to talk to in classes, if anyone made fun of _him_ for the color of his hair or his small build. That day they played dodgeball. Ferb was picked last. He bet Phineas was never picked last when they were told to create groups. He was out within the first two minutes, taking a rubber ball straight to the face and having to be escorted to the nurse by a tall blonde haired girl. She was nice enough, sending Ferb sympathetic glances and asking every so often if he was okay, but she didn't touch him. No one at school ever touched him unless it was to shove him.

The nurse gave him some ice and told him he'd have a nice shiner to take up half his face, but he'd be fine. The nice blonde girl had left him at the office in order to go back in time for the next round. By the time the nurse was done with him, gym was nearly over. He walked the empty hallway alone, trying to drag his feet as much as he could. He was almost done with the day, and his dad was coming to get him after. He could do this.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the day dragged at a snail's pace. A bulky dark haired boy who reminded him a bit of Buford tried to shove him in his locker between English and History, and another student had tried tripping him on his way to his seat. He skillfully avoided the foot, but was met by a hissed insult in retaliation. Several kids snickered and pointed at his blackening eye all through the reign of Queen Victoria and the teacher had had to stop the lesson repeatedly until attention was back on him.

By the time final bell rang, Ferb was exhausted. All he wanted to do was go home and curl up on his bed with his bunny. He rifled through his locker quickly, pulling out his homework and shoving it unceremoniously into his bag and rushing for the exit. He stood at the top of the stairs, being jostled by the tide of students as he scanned the buses and cars for his dad's familiar little grey four door. He didn't see it. Nor did he see his grandfather's antique one.

He stood there looking as the school behind him slowly emptied. Where was his dad? Maybe he was just running late? He was just about to go back inside and ask the office if he could use their phone when he heard his voice being called. A tall man with styled light brown hair had just climbed out of his fancy two door sports car and was waving in Ferb's direction. Ferb sighed, shifting his bag on his shoulder before starting down the steps in his direction. What was he doing here? Frank never came to get him from school. In fact, Ferb never saw him unless he was with his mom.

"Hey, Ferbo! How was school?" Frank was all bleach white smiles and tanning spray. He was tall, much taller than Ferb's dad, and had a tendency to wear khakis with ironed creases and pastel colored button downs tucked into them. His dad liked to say Frank looked like an ad for toothpaste and pore cream, and that he was one sweater away from being a Gated Community member. That last one Ferb hadn't really understood, but he got the idea.

When Ferb just stood at the bottom of the steps saying nothing, Frank's smile didn't waver, but it looked a little more plastic. Like the Ken dolls his cousin Eliza played with. Ferb thought it made him look even more like a plastic doll than he normally did. Not once since Frank and his mom started dating had Ferb seen the man in anything but pressed khakis and pastel dress shirts. "Court was running a bit long for your folks, so I offered to come getcha and bring you back. Figured we could stop for some ice cream on the way?" Ferb shook his head at the offer. Oddly the idea of ice cream didn't appeal to him. In fact, his stomach was starting to bother him a little. Maybe he should have eaten more at lunchtime?

Frank's smile dropped completely for the briefest second before it was up again, but not fast enough that Ferb didn't notice. Stepping back he opened the door for his girlfriend's son to climb in before closing it behind him and walking around to his side of the car. Frank's car didn't have a back seat, and while Ferb felt unusually grown up getting to ride in the front seat, he'd much rather have had a bit of space between him and the older man. The car was very limited on space and Ferb was starting to feel his throat close up with the amount of cologne he was breathing in.

They road in silence, Frank shooting him occasional glances while his fingers tapped out a rhythm on the gearshift. A few times he'd take a turn a little too fast and his hand would slip, brushing the boy's thigh. Whenever this would happen Ferb would slide a little closer to the window as he could, focusing on the city flying by the other side of the glass and wonder why the courthouse had to be so far from his school. Finally, _finally,_ they reached the large white building with the towering columns.

"You _sure_ you don't want to run for ice cream real quick?" Frank asked, pulling into a parking space. "They might not even be done yet, to be honest. We've probably got a bit of time." But Ferb was already unbuckling his seat belt and opening the door, enjoying the fresher air and feeling the cologne induced cloud clearing from his mind. Behind him he heard Frank sigh before turning off the car and getting out himself. Sparing a glance to make sure he was ready to follow, Ferb started up the tall marble stairs, schoolbag bouncing along behind him.

Frank caught up with him at the building entrance, directing him to the courtroom where his parents had been and they quietly slipped in through the back doors. No one even glanced their way as they entered, instead focused on the proceedings going on up front. Ferb had seen videos of what went on in courtrooms, but it was a lot different sitting there and seeing it with his own eyes. His dad sat on one side next to a woman in long black robes, her dark blonde hair tucked up under a white powdered wig, like the kind the old monarchy used to wear. That was Sarah, his dad's attorney.

His mom sat on the opposite side next to a man dressed similarly to Sarah. Ferb couldn't see the color of his hair though because it was shorter than the wig. The judge sat up front in red and black robes with a longer, fancier wig on his head. He was older, maybe even older than his Grandpa Reg, and was bigger around with a droopy, wrinkly face that even when frowning looked kind. It was the same judge that was handling the custody battle. Ferb liked him. He was always friendly to him and slipped him a lolly at the end of their appointments.

"As we have now well exceeded our time for the day, thanks to many arguments from Mr. Wainwright as to what should be done between his client and her husband about their belongings, I now call this meeting adjourned and we will reconvene on Friday. Dismissed." Gavel struck wood and everyone rose to their feet. As the judge made his way back to his office, Ferb's mom spotted Frank and a happy smile broke out on her face.

She was looking tired. Her jade tinted hair was pulled back from her face in a neat bun, but it was looking a little dull and her normally round face was drawn and pale under the layers of make up she'd applied. "Hi, Frank! Thank you so much for picking Ferb up from school. I'm sure he wasn't any trouble. Were you honey?" She gave Ferb a one armed hug that was a bit too tight and a peck on the head before letting him go. Frank smiled his toothpaste smile again. "No trouble at all. Quiet as always, that one! It was my pleasure, Susan. Really."

As the two grown-ups embraced, Ferb his stomach roll again and opted to go see what was taking his dad so long. As he got closer, he could hear him talking to Sarah in a low voice. "I wish she wouldn't insist on dragging this out for so long. She can keep everything, I don't mind! I just want Ferb. She can even have the shop and do whatever she wants, it doesn't matter. She's doing it on purpose now, though." He was about to go on when Sarah spotted Ferb and placed a hand on her client's shoulder, giving him a smile. "Let me worry about what her attorney is doing. Right now there's a very tired looking boy who probably is bored with grown-up nonsense and wants to go home. Isn't that right, Ferb?"

Ferb nodded as his dad turned around, taking the last step down and stumbling slightly before catching himself on the wooden railing. "Everything alright, Ferb?" His dad's voice was full of concern as he took the few remaining steps between him and his son. Ferb nodded, straightening up with a smile. His stomach had stopped bugging him almost as soon as he'd gotten away from his mom and Frank's affectionate displays. He'd just slipped on the stairs.

Studying his face a moment as though to determine he was telling the truth, his dad gave him a big grin. "Well then, what say we go home and get started on dinner. I was thinking lamb stew, and maybe whip us up a pumpkin pie from that handsome pumpkin you found yesterday?" The idea was met by an enthusiastic nod so with a bid farewell to Sarah, the two Fletcher men were on their way back out of the courthouse and toward what promised to be a rather tasty dinner.

? ? ? ?

That night, full of lamb stew and pumpkin pie, Ferb drifted off. When he opened his eyes, Buford was going on about how Baljeet had gotten peanut butter all over his chocolate bar and there was no way two flavors should be mixed together. This led to the invention of the Molecular Separator in order to return the delicious combination back into their singular goodness. That done, they proceeded to separate a Mule into a donkey and a horse, and the bottle of 2-in-1 their mom had bought into shampoo _and_ conditioner. Then they'd left it alone for two minutes and Candace had gone and separated the two sides of herself: the side that was determined to get their mom to see what they were inventing and get her to bust them, and the side that was obsessed with the boy she had a crush on. This had then lead to them trying to hunt the two halves down and Ferb had ended up in a blond wig for their troubles. The two boys made a pact to destroy everything about this machine if it didn't disappear at the end of the day. They got Candace back to normal and then went inside for the snacks offered by their mom.

Ferb liked their mom. Well, technically she was Phineas and Candace's mom, but she treated him like he belonged. Every day she'd offer them snacks and make sure they'd had a good day. She wasn't very adventurous, more content to stay at home or run errands, or take the occasional cooking class, but she felt motherly. Not that Ferb's own mother wasn't motherly, but she tended to work long hours and when she was home she was usually tired or working on something.

Sometimes, especially after a bad weekend at his mom's house, he'd wish Phineas's mom was his mom too. He'd told Phineas that once, expecting the other boy to judge him for the thought. To his surprise (though he wasn't sure why he was so surprised) Phineas had only chuckled and wrapped him in a sideways hug. "She _is_ your mom too, Ferboosh!" Ever since then though, the boy had seemed to try a bit harder to make him feel included when doing stuff for their mom. For instance when her birthday had rolled around Phineas had made sure that Ferb had a hand in everything from the birthday card to the fashion show. That alone made Ferb feel more accepted than anything else, and he'd woken that next morning with tears in his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Ferb woke up Thursday morning dreading going to speech. Last night they'd befriended a chameleon named Steve, then had to go searching all over town for him when he disappeared both literally and figuratively. Just when Phineas and Isabella had been getting ready to give up, Ferb had been moved to make a speech to convince them not to give up. It had gone so well that passersby had stopped to listen. It had both been empowering, and terrifying and by the time it was over Ferb felt wobbly. He'd said more in that speech than he probably had all week, but the way Phineas was smiling at him had made the feeling worth it. "Nice speech, bro," he'd told him, throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go find Steve." And now he had to go see a therapist whose job was to try and get him to talk and sound out his vowels and things he'd known how to do since he was one.

She was nice enough, but she didn't seem to understand that just because Ferb didn't like to talk didn't mean he couldn't or wasn't understandable. He was rather well worded when he wanted to be. That was another reason he wanted to stay with his dad. He understood that Ferb didn't like talking and he respected it. Ferb's mom was the one who'd insisted he start therapy when he'd celebrated his third birthday and still not said a word. His dad had managed to convince her to give it another year, but since he was 4 years old, 2-3 times a month found him sitting in his therapist's office going over vowels. The only good thing was that it got him out of school during lunch and he didn't have to go back.

Needless to say, therapy was tedious. She'd had him read off a series of sentences, prompting him to be louder when his voice dropped before moving on to the dreaded vowels. By the time the appointment was over he felt like Eliza from My Fair Lady, grateful his speech teacher never resorted to using marbles. His dad was in the waiting room reading a magazine when he came out, followed by his therapist. "Hey, you two! How'd he do today, Karen?" Karen smiled politely, patting Ferb on the shoulder. "As well as usual, Mr. Fletcher. His diction is good, now if we can just get him to be a bit louder. I'll see you both same time in two weeks?"

Ferb's dad nodded, taking his hand as the two left the office. When they were in the car and buckled up, the older Fletcher glanced back at his son in the rearview mirror. "Well, Ferb. Seeing as you didn't bite the therapist this week, I'd say we have a date with the solar system. What do you think?" Ferb's face split in a wide grin as he nodded in excitement. It left him feeling slightly dizzy but that was okay. Chuckling, his dad put the car in drive and pointed them in the direction of the Planetarium.

The planetarium was amazing. Being the middle of the day the building was nearly empty save a few parents with their young students, a handful of Uni students, and a tour group from one of the local schools. They wandered through the displays and under enlarged replicas of the planets and constellations, making their way into the observatory for the stars at night show. Ferb sat enraptured by the displays of the stars as they were categorized for them by the narrator.

The showing ended with a star going supernova in the middle of a nebula millions of lightyears away. He'd have to tell Phineas about it when he saw him tonight. As the lights rose again, Ferb turned to his dad with a giant smile on his face. "Thanks, dad. That was brilliant." His dad smiled back. "My pleasure, son. I agree that was most fascinating. Now what say we head home?" Ferb nodded, following the man out of the building. He was still grinning like a fool when he went to bed that night.

Phineas had loved the idea of the planetarium, but before they could come up with an activity for the day, Isabella had come into the backyard telling them they should go check on Baljeet. They'd gotten to the Tjinder household to find Baljeet hiding in the dark. He'd qualified for the science fair and wanted to build a portal to Mars so that he'd get an A. Ferb couldn't help think that Baljeet was an odd kid. It was perpetual summer here, but he was worried about school and grades and homework.

They agreed to help him and had got it working when Candace had gone through, short circuiting it in the process and leaving her stranded on the red planet. They'd tried to get it working again, but had only succeeded in creating a portal to Venus and one to Earth's Jurassic era. With a few more tweaks, the image fuzzed like a tv without signal before they were looking at themselves from a few minutes in the future. Their Future Selves helped them to properly set it to Mars so that Phineas and Ferb could go through and find their sister.

They made it off Mars in one piece, though it was interesting to be chased by aliens that could meld into one another to create one giant bloodthirsty alien. Candace had her friends to hang out with again and Baljeet had gotten an A+++ on his project. As they sat eating corn dogs and telling Isabella about the adventure, Phineas turned to him, grinning around his mustard goatee. "So Ferb, what did you think of Mars?" Ferb pondered the question for a moment, taking a bite of the sausage on a stick and licking the blob of ketchup that had landed on his chin. "It was lovely to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Couldn't see the stars."


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Warning: this chapter contains a bit of implied attempted child abuse and some really bad parenting, but I assure you our little Ferb is perfectly safe and capable of handling himself. If the idea bothers you, though, you can skip after "Ferb blinked open his eyes and he was at his mom's house" and you shouldn't be too lost._

It had been just over two weeks since their trip to the planetarium and to Mars, and Ferb was in the middle of a nightmare. Isabella had come to them with a terrible case of the hiccups so they'd decided to build a haunted house to see if they could scare them out of her. He'd managed the controls while Phineas took Isabella through the different levels. He was a little disappointed in the costumes Baljeet and Buford had chosen as frightening, but the Fireside girls had gotten good costume ideas and everything else seemed to be functioning properly so he'd counted it as a win.

When the duo finally made it to the top he'd had high hopes that Isabella would be over her hiccups. She wasn't. Then Candace had come screaming in, having been caught on the cart in the middle of their upping of the power. She'd been dressed nice but her outfit was covered in mud and she'd started yelling at them about all the stuff that had almost killed her before turning and storming her way out.

Now Ferb was frozen in terror, watching the redhead rising higher and higher from where he'd gotten stuck in the house. When the building had started to shake they'd all run for the exit but Phineas had gotten stuck on a broken slat from the door. The house took him with it before they could get him out. And then the unimaginable happened. The slat broke under his weight and sent him into freefall. He was going to be killed and there was nothing Ferb could do about it. His mind was too jumbled to be able to come up with any quick ideas.

All he could think was that this couldn't be happening. Phineas couldn't die. He wasn't real. You had to be real to die, right? And if he did, what would happen to Ferb? This was his dream after all. Would he keep coming back to their quiet backyard night after night to sit there by himself until he woke back up? Would he start having different dreams? Phineas had been a part of his nightlife for so long that he didn't know what he'd do otherwise.

Luckily for him Isabella was a quick thinker in any situation. After a split second panic she'd snapped the fireside girls into action, weaving their sashes into a suitable net to catch the falling boy. He bounced off safely and landed in Isabella's arms. "Now _that_ was scary," she told him. Then a grin spread across her face. "Hey! My hiccups are gone! Thanks, Phineas!" She set him back on his feet and he gave her a confident grin, but Ferb noticed the slight wobble in his legs and came forward to stand at his shoulder, offering silent support. "Glad we could help!" the redhead told her, waving as she and their friends left the backyard. When it was just the two of them again, Phineas sagged, leaning his weight back into Ferb.

"That was terrifying, Ferb," the shorter boy said softly, pulling off the mad scientist wig and looking up at Ferb from under his sweaty bangs. "Let's never do that again, okay?" Ferb nodded, wrapping his arms around Phineas's chest. "Please never do that again…" he whispered, feeling tears burning in the back of his eyes. He was pretty sure they weren't from the Frankenstein's Monster makeup he was wearing either. Phineas looked like he was about to say something, but everything was suddenly growing dim and fuzzy. He was waking up, but it wasn't him waking himself up, someone was shaking him. He could feel it now, a soft but persistent grip on his shoulder.

The backyard faded around Phineas's confused face, and before long he was blinking his eyes open in the bedroom he had at his mom's house.

When his vision cleared, he had to do a double take to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was. Frank was sitting on the edge of the racecar bed, one hand stroking Ferb's shoulder lightly. He was dressed in pajama pants and a white undershirt, and he must have showered before going to bed because his hair wasn't it's usual styled do and the choking odor of Ralph Lauren was missing. "Hey, Ferbo, you ok?" He asked, still stroking his arm. Ferb wanted to pull away and find out what he was doing in his room at… he glanced to the clock...1:30 in the morning, but the way his blankets were tucked in and where Frank was sitting had him pinned under the comforter.

"I got up for some water and I heard you. Sounded like you were having a nightmare so I thought I'd check on you. Make sure you were alright." His hand fell from Ferb's shoulder to his blanketed thigh where he continued to rub circles. The action was likely meant as soothing, but it just set Ferb's teeth on edge. It felt wrong, like it was a knife Frank was drawing across his skin instead of his fingers.

"You know you can talk to me, right? I know you're going through a hard time right now, what with your parents divorcing and your dad likely leaving town after it's all over, and I just want you to know that I'm here for you. I care about you, Ferb." Frank leaned in close, one hand braced uncomfortably against Ferb's thigh and the other up by his head. "I care about you…" The hand on his thigh came up to the edge of the blanket, pulling it down until Ferb was laying on the bed in just his pajamas. "I just want to take care of you, Ferb. You get that, right? This will be our little secret, yeah? Your mom's going through so much right now, no need to worry her with trivial things…"

Frank reached for his waistband and Ferb came out of his horror induced stupor. Lashing out, he kicked Frank in the chest, shoving him away so that he could get away. The older man made a grab for him, but Ferb was used to dodging bullies when he needed to and avoided the grasping hands like an expert and ran into the hall to start banging on his mom's door. The woman yanked it open, blinking sleepily around the hall above Ferb's head before realizing it was her panicking son. Ferb was practically hyperventilating, trying desperately to get words out and air in.

"Frank… my r-room… he- he tried… tried to…" he couldn't get the words out. His lungs felt too tight and his head was spinning. He could still feel too big hands rubbing circles on his leg. He was gulping air trying to get enough to tell his mom what had just happened when the man in question came out into the hall. He looked completely unruffled save for the way he was holding his arm to his ribs. Ferb hoped he at least cracked a couple for what he'd tried to do. "Ferb? Frank… what's going on, you two?"

"Franktriedtomolestme!" Ferb finally got out, hoping his mom understood the rushed shout. Hey, Karen would be proud. "Frank tried what now, sweetie? Frank? What happened?" Frank chuckled, hiding a wince behind that smile of his. Ferb wanted to kick the perfect white teeth in. "Ferb here just had a nightmare, sweetheart. I went in to check on him and he just freaked out a little. Isn't that right, Ferb?" The look he gave Ferb held a warning, but Ferb wasn't about to listen. "He's lying, mom. He was in my room. He woke me up and started stroking my leg, and then he tried to pull my pants down!"

Susan Fletcher looked from her son's panicked gaze, to her boyfriend's smile that said "kids and their stories, huh?" and then sighed. "Ferb, sweetie, it was just a dream. Why don't you go on back to bed. Your father will be here around nine to pick you up. Apologize to Frank and go to bed." With another sigh, the woman turned and walked back into her bedroom, leaving her shell shocked son out in the hall. Frank stepped up behind him, one meaty hand landing on the thin shoulder and squeezing none too gently, causing the child to jump and wince violently. "It's alright, Ferb. I forgive you. Now why don't you go get some sleep. Sweet dreams!"

Ferb was numb as he walked back to his bedroom, closing the door behind him. He hesitated a moment, then locked it for good measure. He couldn't believe it. His mom didn't believe him. She'd sided with her boyfriend of only a few months. Staring at his bed for a long moment, he decided there was no way he was sleeping in there again so he grabbed an extra blanket from the steamer trunk against the wall and brought it into his closet where he shoved shoes out of the way and curled up behind his layers of hanging clothing. He didn't sleep again that night, and already had his stuff packed when morning rolled around and someone was rattling his doorknob. "Ferb, honey? Why is your door locked? Your father will be here soon. Are you up?" It was his mom.

Ferb stood, taking his bag with him as he walked over and unlocked his door. "Oh, you're already packed? That's good. Are you hungry? Frank's making pancakes." Ferb shook his head, face a blank mask. Slipping past his mom, he carried his bag into the living room and sat it down by the door, using it as a bench to wait. Frank stuck his head out of the kitchen as he passed. "Hey, Ferbo! You hungry? They're blueberry, your favorite!" Ferb decided right then he hated blueberry. Instead of answering he kept his gaze locked on the window, looking for his dad's car to pull up.

After what seemed like forever, the familiar little grey car pulled up to the house. The driver wasn't even fully out of the vehicle before Ferb was out there throwing his bag into the trunk and climbing into his carseat. "Ferb? What's wrong? Aren't you going to tell your mother goodbye?" Ferb shook his head, fighting back tears. The brunet studied his son for a moment before cranking the car again. Something was wrong, but he clearly didn't want to talk about it right now. Offering his soon-to-be ex-wife a wave to let her know he had Ferb, he pulled back onto the road and started for home.

They made it back to the apartment in silence, and he let Ferb drop his bag in his room before calling him into the living room and sitting him on the couch. "Ferb? You want to tell me what has you so upset?" Ferb hesitated, staring down at his trainers. His mom hadn't believed him. Would his dad? A hand landed on his shoulder and he flinched. Hard. "Ferb? Ferb, what happened? What's wrong?" Tears were blurring his vision and he buried his face in his dad's shirt. "Las-last ni-night… I had a nightmare and… when I wo-woke up Fra-ank was in my room, sitting on my bed. He was stroking my arm, talking to me, then he started to str-stro-oke my le-leg… and then he tried to…" Ferb couldn't finish. His voice cracked and he broke down in harsh sobs, his own breath choking him.

His dad held him, rubbing his back and whispering shushes into his ear. Unlike when Frank touched him, his dad's hands were comforting and he felt himself calming down. "I don't want to go back. Don't make me go back, please…" Ferb pulled back so he could look his dad in the eyes. The older man looked ancient and broken, but his face remained dry. "Of course not, Ferb. But we need to call the cops and tell them. Think you could do that?" Ferb nodded, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeve. He could do that. If it meant Frank would be gone and he'd never have to see him again, he'd tell the cops anything they wanted to know.


	7. Chapter 7

The battles being fought were shortened dramatically after that day. The cops had come to ask Ferb questions and he'd managed to get through it without breaking down. They told his dad they'd be in touch and left. They got a phone call less than an hour later saying Frank had been arrested. Evidently his computer had been confiscated and they'd found photos of Ferb clearly taken without his knowledge, as well as of other yet to be identified children. He was taken away, and when the point was made that it was happening under her roof and she hadn't been aware, and that her son had told her and she'd ignored him, Susan Fletcher was deemed an unfit mother and complete custody of Ferb Fletcher was turned to his father, Lawrence.

The divorce battle fell apart not long after that, Susan getting the house and Lawrence getting Ferb. It was all over in less than 2 weeks. His dad had sold the antique shop, they'd packed up their apartment, bid his grandparents goodbye with promises to visit when they were settled, and they were crossing the ocean to a small town called Danville. Ferb couldn't help think that his mother got her wish. Her ex-husband was as far away from England as it was possible to get.

It takes them about a month to get settled, and by that point the local schools are in their final weeks before winter holiday so there wasn't much point in enrolling Ferb just yet. His dad spent most of the time job hunting, leaving Ferb to unpack and set up his room under the watch of a young woman named Maddison Sweetwater. She was a Junior at the local college with a sister a year younger than Ferb who'd answered an ad Ferb's dad had put in the paper for occasional babysitter while he was out of the house. The apartment they found was a lot like the flat they left in England; a bit smaller, but still comfortable. He was just finding the box with the TV remotes and their movies collection when his dad came home from grocery shopping with an announcement. He'd reconnected with an old friend.

He'd known her back in college when she'd done a study abroad program, and they'd wound up dating during her stay but unfortunately had lost touch when she'd had to return to the states. They'd run into each other in the produce aisle and decided to go out for coffee and catch up on old times. Evidently she'd gotten married some time after returning to America and had two children, but her husband had died several years back. "One of her children is about your age, Ferb. A boy named...um...Phil? Finnigan? Maybe Guineas I think? Oh I can't remember. But we figured if you're interested we could set up a day later this week? Let the two of you meet? It'll be good for you to make some friends that will go to the same school as you."

Ferb thought about it for a moment. A boy about his age? Would he like him? Would the other boy like Ferb? Would he think he was weird because he didn't talk? After several different directions of thought, Ferb finally decided he'll never know unless he tries and gave his dad an affirmative nod. The grin on his dad's face spoke volumes of how he felt about this woman and what Ferb's agreement meant to him. He immediately excused himself to go call the woman, Linda, and let her know that Ferb had agreed. They spent the next several hours on the phone and when they finally hung up it was nearing dinner time, Ferb had put up the groceries, and Lawrence Fletcher had a date the following evening.

The grown-ups had made arrangements to meet at the Flynn household the following Friday. Her children would be out of school by then and the weather would still be pleasant enough for them to be able to play outside. Ferb spent the morning full of nervous energy, thoughts of if his shyness would scare the other boy away, what would he be like, would they have anything in common? His stomach was starting to hurt. Was he going to be sick? Finally his dad came to collect him, the two piling into the four door station wagon he'd bought and they were off.

When they'd parked in the driveway and were starting up to the front door, they were met with a skinny almost-teenager standing in the open doorway with a small dog wagging excitedly by her feet. "You must be the guys mom told us about," she said crossing her arms. Her voice was nasally and they saw flashes of braces when she talked. "I'm Candace Flynn. This is Bucky." She motioned to the dog who was now staring at Ferb like he had a ball and was about to throw it. "Hello, Candace, I'm Lawrence Fletcher. I've heard so much about you from your mother, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. This is my son, Ferb." Ferb offered her a smile, but didn't say a word. Something about her was very familiar but he couldn't place it. The orange haired girl stared at him for a minute, frowning. "Don't you talk?" she demanded, and Ferb immediately wanted to hide. He knew this had been a bad idea.

"Candace Flynn! That is not how you greet our guests!" A tall, red headed woman appeared behind the girl. "Hi, Lawrence. Sorry about Candace. Candace, honey, why don't you go tell your brother our guests are here?" Candace huffed and walked off, the little dog following closely on her heels. Linda Flynn offered them both a smile. "Why don't the two of you come in off the porch. I've got snacks in the living room. Ferb, dear it's so nice to finally meet you. Your father has done nothing but talk about you, and I know Phineas is excited to finally get to meet you. It's all he's been talking about all week!"

Ferb followed his dad and the chattering woman into the living room where a plate of cookies and some lemonade had been set out. Like her daughter, there was something oddly familiar about the woman, and had she just said her son's name was Phineas? What were the odds? He sat on the edge of a couch seat taking in the room. There was a fireplace, the mantel covered in family photographs, all featuring Linda and Candace with a short, angular faced boy with bright eyes and an infectious grin. Ferb felt his own eyes widen in recognition. No… it couldn't be. Could it? He was just about to bring up the photos when there was a thungering of feet from the stairs.

Candace came in first, plopping herself down next to her mom and grabbing a cookie. Next came Bucky, running in and nearly tripping over the edge of the rug in his haste to get to Ferb and see if he could be suckered into sharing a cookie. Lastly, accompanying the sound of running feet, was the short redhead from the photos. Ferb recognized him immediately, but how was this possible? He was a dream, but now he's standing right in front of him with that wide, infectiously mischievous grin on his face. There was a light in his eyes that told Ferb that somehow this boy knew exactly what he was thinking as he came forward with a hand stuck out. "Hi! I'm Phineas! It's nice to finally meet you, Ferb! I know we're gonna be _great_ friends!"


End file.
